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Briarley

Aster Glenn Gray

4.08 · Rating details · 353 ratings · 94 reviews

An m/m World War II-era retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

During a chance summer shower, an English country parson takes refuge in a country house. The house seems deserted, yet the table is laid with a sumptuous banquet such as the parson has not seen since before war rationing.

Unnerved by the uncanny house, he flees, but stops to pluck a single perfect rose from the ...more

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Kindle Edition, 121 pages

Published May 5th 2018

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LGBT Retellings of classic Fiction/Fairy Tale/Myth

121 books — 92 voters

Best M/M Fantasy (High or Urban) Books of 2018

23 books — 8 voters

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· 353 ratings · 94 reviews

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May 14, 2018 Francesca Forrest rated it it was amazing

(This review duplicates what's in this Dreamwidth entry.)

Briarley retells the story of Beauty and the Beast, imagining what might happen if Beauty’s father was man enough not to let his daughter sacrifice herself for him. Instead, he stays in her place.

In this retelling, it’s World War II, and the father is a parson who’s also a veteran of the Great War, and the beast takes the form of a dragon.

You know this is going to be a different type of retelling by the parson’s initial reaction to the (This review duplicates what's in this Dreamwidth entry.)

Briarley retells the story of Beauty and the Beast, imagining what might happen if Beauty’s father was man enough not to let his daughter sacrifice herself for him. Instead, he stays in her place.

In this retelling, it’s World War II, and the father is a parson who’s also a veteran of the Great War, and the beast takes the form of a dragon.

You know this is going to be a different type of retelling by the parson’s initial reaction to the dragon’s dilemma:

“The curse says you must learn to love and be loved, does it not? Those are the only conditions?” The dragon nodded, his head still buried in his hands. The parson broke a piece off a roll and buttered it. “Then I suggest you get a puppy,” he said.

Nor is this mere flippancy: “I have seen shell-shocked soldiers make great, great strides when they are given charge of a dog,” he says, and adds,

“A dog is a more loving creature than man. All the things that we wish we were, dogs are: loyal, faithful, loving, and cheerful in the face of adversity.

And that’s the type of story this is: the parson musing on the nature of love, different types of love, in the company of the dragon, who’s at first haughty, vain, capricious, and entitled, but gradually becomes… well, somewhat less so. Gray resists the easy out of a dramatic personality transformation—the emotional equivalent of taking off the glasses and having a character become suddenly gorgeous. Real people are beloved despite being prickly and short tempered. In this story, the parson has reasons for feeling both deep pity for and a deep attachment to the young man that the dragon once was.

The two talk not only about love, but also morality, vindictiveness, compassion—so much. And lest I’ve made it sound like some kind of milk-soaked graham cracker of a story, let me quickly also add that it’s **funny** too, as when the dragon and the parson have this exchange:

“That’s not how you learn to love, not at all. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it does not kidnap – ”

“You’re misquoting,” the dragon interrupted. “Paul doesn’t say anything about kidnapping.”

The parson replies, “I believe the injunction against kidnapping is implied by all the rest of it.”

It’s an imaginative, moving, surprising story—I highly recommend it. ...more

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Jun 09, 2018 Camilla Monk rated it it was amazing

Just completely unexpected. Aster Glenn Gray re-imagines the eternal tale of the Beauty and the Beast in the countryside of warn-torn 1940 England. Is it corny at times? Obviously, as one expects. But it's mostly the smart, insightful, bittersweet and funny journey of a solitary dragon and the no-nonsense parson he kidnaps, and who won't trade his daughter's life for his. So the Parson stays, worms his way into the dragon's tiny, isolated world, and it's just pure pleasure to see them debate of ...more

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Oct 04, 2018 Marquise rated it it was amazing

Shelves: best-loved-reads, 5-stars, historical-setting-1900s, world-war-ii, fairy-tale-retellings, novellas, for-the-laughs-and-giggles, historical-fiction, exceptional-characterisation, insanely-badass-moment

I'm going to put Briarley up there with the most original retellings of "Beauty and the Beast" I've read, because of the setting and the pairing as much as for the plot.

It's set in the English countryside during World War II, and despite the location sparing them from the most severe hardships of it, the war isn't absent from the story. It's there in the rationing, in the necessity for the young ones to go to the frontlines to fight or to nurse, and in the aerial dogfights betweeen the Luftwaffe I'm going to put Briarley up there with the most original retellings of "Beauty and the Beast" I've read, because of the setting and the pairing as much as for the plot.

It's set in the English countryside during World War II, and despite the location sparing them from the most severe hardships of it, the war isn't absent from the story. It's there in the rationing, in the necessity for the young ones to go to the frontlines to fight or to nurse, and in the aerial dogfights betweeen the Luftwaffe and the RAF that can be witnessed down from the manor, etc. I really appreciated that the insularity of the place wasn't used as an excuse to ignore the conflict, that historical events aren't window dressing here.

Then there's the characters. Parson Edward Harper is a kind and likable man in his middle age, widowed and with one daughter that's a war nurse, who is compelled by foul weather to seek refuge in a dark and seemingly abandoned manor when returning to his village after his duties. The manor is so spooky he's sent bicycling away at top speed almost as soon as he enters the place, but on his way he's tempted to pick a rose for his daughter, as he has the habit of bringing back a rose every time he's gone from home. As anyone who's read the original tale will know, this gets him in serious trouble with the manor's master. Who's a dragon. Yes, a realer than real dragon called Briarley. Cursed, of course. All this also a staple of Beauty & Beast retellings.

But that's where the by-the-letter adherence ot the fairy tale's plot ends, because the rest is different. It's essentially like those sweet and clean slow-burn romances from the 1800s that so many people still love to pieces even now, with the sole difference that it's a male-male pairing (I don't recall seeing a M/M clean romance before!). This being so short, instant love would've been expected, but it's kept going as slow as length permits instead. There's the other elements you'd expect in a Regency novel: the loyal gaggle of servants, the brooding housemaster, the irrepressible doggie, village eccentrics of all kinds... I sometimes had to remind myself that this was a "modern" story. There's plenty of banter as much as serious talk between the characters, and I appreciated that the societal and moral challenges to same-sex couples that would've plagued people from the time aren't avoided but discussed, and in a manner that doesn't detract from the storyline. ...more

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May 11, 2018 Ambrosia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, e-book

A retelling of Beauty and the Beast where the beast is a dragon and the traveller a village parson who refuses to trade his daughter's freedom for his own? Where he stays with the beast himself and they have discussions on the nature of love and its varying forms? And also it's set in England during World War II? Clearly, I must read this immediately.

I am here to tell you that it is every bit as delightful as I'd hoped. The fairytale tone is charming without being twee, Briarley Hall has just ...more

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Jul 16, 2018 Malia rated it really liked it

OK, so Beauty and the Beast, but the dad doesn't sell out his daughter. And the beast is a dragon. And it's WWII, so you gotta fight some Nazis.

I don't know what else to tell you. This rules.

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Oct 31, 2018 Sharade rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, fairy-tale, romance, novella, historical-fiction, lgbt

Beauty and the Beast retellings always attract my attention, however full of questionable morals the original tale was. Remove the Stockholm Syndrome part and give the story a fresh twist and you'll have an enthusiastic reader in me.
This was the case for Briarley. The twist was in the setting (England during WWII) and in the protagonists (an older man instead of a young girl as the Beast's "captive") - and it worked perfectly well. The romance was a slow-burn, and I loved the book's touches of ...more

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Jan 19, 2020 Rachel Reid rated it it was amazing

This was so sweet!

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May 30, 2019 Helen Kord rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourites, m-m, historical, fantasy

This was absolutely beautiful. Gentle, smart and kind towards it's characters, with a wonderful slow-burn romance between an older disabled WW1 vet and a dragon, with an almost fairy tale atmosphere? It doesn't get more Helena-baity than that!

Edit for a reread: wow this book is even BETTER on a reread, how is that possible?

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Jul 01, 2018 Jaya rated it it was ok

Shelves: liebesgeschichte, did-we-read-the-same-book, kindle, glbtqia, shots, bah-humbug, slo-mo-ros, mmxviii, historical, unitedkingdom-england

The romance part of it wasn't convincing, AT ALL!

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Nov 05, 2019 Leigh Kramer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, disability, grief-and-loss, lgbtqia, closed-door, mm, retelling, novella, pets, historical-romance

This was so lovely that I have to take a moment to reflect upon said loveliness. Briarley is worth every penny and I need you all to read it. It's a MM Beauty & The Beast retelling set during WWII. All the more impressive is this is a novella. It’s one of the best historical romances I’ve ever read, as well as one of the best BATB retellings I’ve ever read.

The author reinterprets the source material in ways that give it so much more nuance. It’s thoroughly feminist, right down to the parson This was so lovely that I have to take a moment to reflect upon said loveliness. Briarley is worth every penny and I need you all to read it. It's a MM Beauty & The Beast retelling set during WWII. All the more impressive is this is a novella. It’s one of the best historical romances I’ve ever read, as well as one of the best BATB retellings I’ve ever read.

The author reinterprets the source material in ways that give it so much more nuance. It’s thoroughly feminist, right down to the parson refusing to send his daughter in his place. Edward consistently puts others’ needs above his own and that leads to the dragon holding him captive instead.

What initially starts off as an adversarial relationship between the two men slowly transforms into a friendship. Edward believes Briar is capable of love and wants to help him break the curse. He finds him a dog, who is missing his back legs from an accident years prior, and it was so touching to watch Briar care for it! Briar’s transformation does not happen overnight. Far from it. He’s been stuck in his ways for almost 120 years (he was 20 when the curse struck) and, spoiled privileged brat that he is and was, he wants it reversed without lifting a finger. His emotional arc was beautiful to watch and I was in awe of how Gray built toward it.

The has a great sense of humor throughout, which makes for a good balance, for example, as it explores the different attitudes about homosexuality in 1840 vs 1940. The dragon was cursed in 1840 and the story delves in to how the world has changed around him, from technological advances to current events. He’s also working through the religious and societal biases against homosexuality at the time and Edward can’t give him great hope about the prevailing attitudes in 1940. However, he had a loving relationship with a man and he’s done his own theological searching and determined their love was not wrong. Progress has been made in the intervening 100 years and it was so interesting to see how the story explored this, as well as how it examined faith, particularly through Edward’s work.

Lastly, Edward was injured during the first world war, when his boyfriend was also killed. The story does not shy away from depicting his disability, nor from the cost and toll of war as WWII’s dangers toward England make themselves known. I can’t speak to the representation but it struck me as honoring and true.

CW: war, homophobia, religious homophobia, bombing, house fire, leg injury ...more

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Jul 09, 2019 Claire rated it it was amazing

Shelves: quiltbag, grown-up, disability, love-love-love, historical-fiction, fairytale-c-retellings, funny, fantasy, real-world-magical-elements, sweet-as-pie

Really I would like to tell you everything that happened in this book, just like I did for my unfortunate partner and the checker at the pet store who I saw immediately after finishing (we swap book and fic recs all the time, it's fine). But it was so very delightful for ME to be continuously surprised that I will not do that to you.

At some point I must have known some of the major plot points, like who the love interest was? But I didn't retain them at all, so at each new page I was like, ...more

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May 10, 2018 Rene Sears rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2018

I picked up Briarley on a whim--I think I saw a rec on twitter about retold fairy tales?--and oh, am I glad I did. This is an absolutely lovely WWII retelling of Beauty and the Beast. A parson with an injured leg from WWI takes shelter from a storm in what appears to be an abandoned manor house. When the rain clears, he picks a rose to take back to his daughter. But of course, at that moment, the Beast (in this case a dragon/man) swoops in to call him a thief and tell him that the only way he'll ...more

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Aug 12, 2018 Pam Faste aka Peejakers rated it it was amazing

Shelves: queer-lgbtqia-plus, romance, historical, fairy-tales, m-m-romance

Oh! This was really beautiful! And so deeply touching.*sniffles shamelessly*. A particularly lovely take on Beauty and The Beast, with seriously, the best kind of beast ever, and just such an original approach, and choice for the role of the "beauty". It was funny too, and a quiet, companionable kind of love story, as much about friendship & so many other kinds of love as it is about romance. I really love this so much.

...more

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Mar 17, 2019 Janine Ballard rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2018-releases

4 stars

don’t read a lot of m/m, but I love fairy-tale retellings and the concept of one set in the English countryside during the World War II blitz was different enough that I read a sample. I loved the author’s way with fairy-tale-style narration, so I ordered the entire novella.

It’s a lovely retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and the central and POV character is a widowed, middle-aged parson with a daughter named Rose. As in Beauty and the Beast, the parson plucks a rose to give to his 4 stars

don’t read a lot of m/m, but I love fairy-tale retellings and the concept of one set in the English countryside during the World War II blitz was different enough that I read a sample. I loved the author’s way with fairy-tale-style narration, so I ordered the entire novella.

It’s a lovely retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and the central and POV character is a widowed, middle-aged parson with a daughter named Rose. As in Beauty and the Beast, the parson plucks a rose to give to his daughter and the beast (in this case, a dragon) insists on taking his daughter in exchange. But in this story, the parson refuses.

At first the dragon won’t release the parson–the hundredth anniversary of the curse that turned him into a dragon is coming up, and if he isn’t loved by then, not only he but also his invisible servants will die. Eventually, though, the parson decides to help the dragon, and from there things start to take a romantic turn.

I’m no expert on World War II England but there were some historical details I really enjoyed. Rationing! Curfews! Air raids!

The romance is slow burn; a little too slow for me—I didn’t get the sense that either hero was attracted to the other until close to halfway through. Initially, I wasn’t sure what to make of a dragon inserted into Beauty and the Beast, either, since all the other fantasy elements in the story were truer to B&B, but I got used to it. The dragon a bit too grumpy for my liking, but he too grew on me. The parson was absolutely lovely and there was also an adorable crippled dog, Daisy.

The author has a gift for the language of fairy tales. You can almost hear the voice of a storyteller sitting by the fireside and feel the warmth of the flames as you read her words. To give an example of what I mean, the novella begins this way:

There once was a country parson with a game leg from the Somme, who lived in a honey-colored parsonage with his daughter, the most beautiful girl in the world.

Others might have quibbled that Rose was not the most beautiful girl in the world, or even the prettiest girl in the village of Lesser Innsley. But to the parson she was all loveliness, all the more so because his wife died when their Rose was still very young, and so Rose was all he had left to love in this world.

Anyway, although it was a little slow-paced, I liked this novella and will keep an eye out for the author’s next book. B. ...more

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Oct 18, 2018 CarolineFromConcord rated it liked it

This fantasy for grownups gives a new twist to a Beauty and the Beast enchantment. Set in England during the WW II German air raids, it concerns a young man called Briarley who in 1840 was turned into a dragon and his staff made invisible because a magical beggar was not treated with kindness. The enchantment is to remain in place for 100 years unless the dragon learns to love and be loved. It is now 1940, and time is almost up. It looks like Briarley, his house, grounds, and servants will all ...more

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Jul 09, 2018 Carly rated it liked it

I am not always the quickest to pick up on things. So when I say that it took reading three Beauty and the Beast retellings to realize it's not the retellings I don't like, but the original Beauty and the Beast story, that's not out of character for me.

I just don't like Beauty and the Beast, no matter how supposedly well done it is. Everything bad that happens at the beginning are the character's own faults, and then no one is given any agency for the entire rest of the fairy tale plot. And ...more

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Aug 22, 2018 Brooke rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Saps who love fairytales

Shelves: m-m, historical, pnr-m-m, dragons, sugar-sweet-fluffy-stuff, retellings, best-of-2018, k-u

Omg what a surprising DELIGHT!

5 full stars!

I happened upon this book when bookbub sent an email saying see what new book Courtney Milan recommends!

I was expecting a M/F 1800s historical romance not THIS:
-m/m
-beauty and the beast retelling (with some really unique spins on it. Such as:)
-beast is a dragon
-the servants have their own unique curse and reason for being cursed
-set during..1940s WWII...
-a preacher/parson MC
-said MC is all about his daughter leading her own life and not taking his ...more

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Sep 22, 2018 Miss Susan rated it really liked it

Shelves: lgbtqia

this is a very lovely take on beauty and the beast in which the romance feels sort of...incidental?

like the review that sold me on it didn't even mention this was m/m and having read it i see why, it's funny and thoughtful and talks about love and morality and honestly if the parson and the dragon hadn't kissed at the end the story wouldn't have suffered in the least

4 stars

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Sep 30, 2018 Jess rated it really liked it

Shelves: other-supernatural, historical-fiction, lgbt, own, fairytales, romance, magic, ebook, kindle, fantasy

This one sits around a...3.67 for me, so I decided to round up. The story is beautiful and I really enjoyed the interactions between the characters, but something was missing and I’m not sure what. Maybe another fifty pages would have done the trick...

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Apr 21, 2019 Chachic added it

Shelves: dnf, kindle-unlimited

DNF at 20%, just couldn't get into the writing. I know it's meant to have a fairy tale feel to it but it kind of gets on my nerves that the main character just keeps being referred to as "the parson".

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Jun 24, 2018 Sarah rated it it was amazing

Beyond lovely

I've always had a fondness for Beauty and the Beast retellings. This one had me crying happy tears at the slow building of their friendship into love.

Also, Daisy the dog and her roller skate. ...more

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Jun 10, 2018 Thegirlintheafternoon rated it it was amazing

Shelves: five-stars, ripped-bodice-summer-bingo

Gorgeous, gorgeous retelling of the Beauty and the Beast set in WWII-era England, with a parson as Belle and a dragon-man as Beast. A gentle, funny, beautifully written version of the tale.

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May 30, 2019 Tori rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2019

Sweet m/m retelling of Beauty and the Beast, set during WWII. I really enjoyed it, but it ends quite abruptly. Would have liked to see a bit more wrap up.

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Jan 14, 2020 Sha rated it really liked it

Shelves: r-queer-protag

1. That was very cute.

2. Briarley is yet another Beauty and the Beast retelling. And this is not a complaint, because I have yet to reach a point where I say ENOUGH to BatB retellings. BatB is one of the best stories to retell you guys there is so much room for character development and whatnot and I live for authors subverting the stockholm syndrome accusation that keeps getting leveled at the story.

3. Okay so the best thing about fairytale retellings are the deviations. You know that thing- ...more

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Jul 09, 2019 Jack rated it liked it

Shelves: kindle, 2018-release

Fun, quirky little read, although ultimately very predictable.

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Jul 02, 2018 Gillian rated it liked it

3 stars

This is a decent re-telling of Beauty & The Beast but it didn’t exactly wow me. Maybe you have to be a fan of the source material (or the Disney version at least) for it to really impress, but I thought it was merely okay.

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Jun 11, 2018 Elizabeth A rated it it was ok

Great concept. I loved Gray's take on the magic which covers the castle and its inhabitants. The way the curse behaves in this story is quite honestly enchanting and gives the maximum number of people agency in each of their personal situations, which is great. Also I loved the parson as a character, and also as a mentoring figure who steps up for our young queer Beast & tells him no, your desires are not a sin, you are not broken, you are capable of loving and being loved.

Still, I thought ...more

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Oct 19, 2019 PJ Who Once Was Peejay rated it it was amazing

This is a wonderfully told story: a m/m beauty and the beast set in World War II. It's fresh and original and so full of heart, even though it is retelling familiar material.

Ms. Gray's writing is quite lovely, and her characters so well rounded and believable, even given the fantasy setting. I fell in love with them as they fell in love with each other.

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Nov 29, 2018 Diane rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, romance_hist-misc, _short_up-to-160pgs, romance_fantasy, romance_lgbtq, lgbtq, romance_fairytales-retold, setting_20th-century-historical, fantasy_fairytale-retelling, _borrowed-via-kindle-unlimited

A sweet, thoughtful, and charming M/M novella retelling of Beauty & the Beast, which is my favorite fairytale to begin with, and this version avoids several of the elements that make some analyses critical of the root storyline. The setting is England during WWII, with rationing and blackout regulations, and homosexuality still seriously condemned. The romance is slow-burn, with no more than some kisses in the end.

Its slant on the fairytale is well-conceived: the lead character (all he's ...more

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